| Final of the Longines Global Champions Tour in Riyadh
Last weekend, Christian traveled with Team Riesenbeck International powered by HorseGym to Riyadh for the final of the Longines Global Champions Tour. On Thursday, the weekend in Saudi Arabia began with the last leg of the Global Champions League, where Christian Kukuk contributed a clear round for the team in the first round with Chageorge and another in the second round with Checker. The second round of the team competition, which also served as the qualification for the Grand Prix, was won by Christian and Checker with the fastest round. In the end, it was third place in the Riyadh leg, thanks in part to the fast time of Christian and Checker, which allowed the team to move up from fifth to fourth place in the overall standings. With this result, Team Riesenbeck International is already qualified for the semifinals of the Global Champions League Playoffs in Prague.
You can find the detailed article about the LGCT leg in Riyadh here: Full Article
On Friday, the excitement continued for Christian, as he qualified for the jump-off in a 5* class over 1.50m with Chageorge. When Christian entered the arena as the 14th of 16 starters in the jump-off, the time to beat stood at 41.50 seconds, set by Scott Brash and his 16-year-old Hello Jefferson. Christian and Chageorge were also lightning-fast and clear. The clock stopped at 41.51 seconds – the Riesenbeck pair had to admit defeat to the Briton by just one hundredth of a second and therefore finished second on Friday evening.
On Saturday, the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Riyadh was on the schedule. For Christian, it was about earning important points in the overall individual ranking, as after 15 of the 16 legs he was in third place, closely followed by Andreas Schou and Maikel van der Vleuten. The young Belgian Gilles Thomas had already secured first place before Riyadh, but second place, held by Harrie Smolders, was still within reach for Christian, with only five points separating the two.
Unfortunately, Saturday evening did not go as planned for Christian and Checker. As the last starter in the first round, it was already clear that both Harrie Smolders and Andreas Schou had qualified for the jump-off. A clear round was therefore essential to maintain third place in the overall ranking and to still have a chance for second place. Checker jumped superbly, just as he had on Thursday, and the pair were well on their way to qualifying for the jump-off. Checker also cleared the triple combination with ease, but towards the end of the course, a light touch on the final element of the combination caused the front rail of the oxer to fall. This meant that third place in the overall standings could no longer be maintained. Andreas Schou’s ninth place was enough for him to secure third place overall, and Denis Lynch, who was only beaten by Jana Wargers in the jump-off, also narrowly overtook Christian.
In the end, it was fifth place in the overall standings, but at the Super Grand Prix in Prague in just under three weeks, Christian will attack again.
CSI2 Riesenbeck*
At the same time, Team Beerbaum, with Ludger, Philipp, Ciaran, and James, took part in the CSI2* in Riesenbeck. With 15 horses, the team competed at their home showgrounds, Riesenbeck International.
The weekend began on Thursday with a victory, as Ciaran and Ogana Sitte SR won the first jumping class of the Youngster Tour convincingly, finishing almost two seconds ahead in the second phase. In the opening class of the Medium Tour, Ludger and Be Gledis achieved a placing with a clear round, and in the following Big Tour over 1.45m, Philipp and Callao L showed a fast and clear round to take second place in the ranking class. There was also a placing on Friday in the highest jumping class of the day. Ludger and the eight-year-old Dynar placed third in the Large Tour. In the evening, the six-year-old Conrad, ridden by James, placed in the Light Tour over 1.20m.
On the final day, Saturday, the success continued. After giving Ogana Sitte SR a day off on Friday following her victory on Thursday, the seven-year-old daughter of Ogano Sitte was back in top form on Saturday and also won the final of the Youngster Tour convincingly, finishing more than one second ahead of second place. Places two to six all finished within just half a second of each other, but Ogana Sitte SR was more than a full second faster and dominated the Youngster Tour, just as she had at the previous CSI2* in Riesenbeck. With Little Special in Red M, Ciaran placed fourth in this final, and Philipp with Aberdeen Z also brought home a ribbon from the final.
In the final of the Small Tour over 1.35m, Forlee produced a fast and clear round, which was also rewarded with a placing. The Team Beerbaum riders were also among the placings in the final of the Light Tour over 1.25m. This time, it was James and Trouble Lady Eq Z who finished fifth, less than a second behind the winner. After his second place in the ranking class on Thursday, Philipp with Callao L competed in the final of the Medium Tour over 1.40m on Saturday and brought home another top-10 placing.
A weekend full of success in Riyadh and Riesenbeck thus came to an end, and we now look forward to a Late Entry in Riesenbeck on November 14–15, as well as the German Masters in Stuttgart from November 12–16, where Christian will be competing. The highlight of this month will then be the Playoffs of the Longines Global Champions Tour and the Global Champions League in Prague, where Christian and Philipp will compete for Team Riesenbeck International as well as in the Super Grand Prix.
